Indonesian newspaper: Nguyen Xuan Son makes a difference for the Vietnamese team, criticizes coach Shin’s team

“Nguyen Xuan Son just played his first official match for the Vietnamese team in the final round of the AFF Cup 2024 (ASEAN Championship) group stage, even though he has completed all naturalization procedures and become a Vietnamese citizen before. However, in his debut match, this player immediately left a strong impression with a double goal and 2 assists. CNN Indonesia Evaluate.

“Nguyen Xuan Son, formerly known as Rafaelson, is playing for Nam Dinh Club in the V-League. He has spent more than 5 years living and playing in Vietnam through many clubs, most closely associated with Nam Dinh Club currently has 2 phases: 2020 and from 2023 to present.

Xuan Son’s presence in the Vietnamese team participating in this year’s AFF Cup attracted a lot of attention, because he is the first case of a naturalized foreign player officially wearing the Vietnamese team shirt and participating in the tournament. largest of the region”, p CNN Indonesia adds.

Xuan Son’s debut for the Vietnamese team left a strong impression, because he integrated very quickly, leading the attack in coach Kim Sang-sik’s 3-4-3 tactical scheme. .

With a very technical, fast and variable playing style, Xuan Son helped his teammates tear apart the Myanmar team’s defense in the second half. In it, he directly scored a double goal and had 2 assists for his teammates. The team scored a big victory with a score of 5-0, the Indonesian newspaper commented.

Also according to the page CNN Indonesia: “While Xuan Son shined helping the Vietnamese team win a big victory over Myanmar, the Indonesian team could not take advantage of this opportunity to win tickets to the semi-finals when they only needed a draw. Unfortunately, coach Shin and his team Tae-yong lost to the Philippines team with a score of 0-1 in the match at the same time, with a goal from the 11 m mark scored by player Kristensen in the 63rd minute.

According to the page ESPN Asiathe appearance of Xuan Son has helped significantly increase the strength of the Vietnamese team in the race to win the 2024 AFF Cup. The most significant counterweight of coach Kim Sang-sik’s army right now must definitely be the Thai team. Lan. These are also the two strongest teams currently in the regional tournament, after the Indonesian team focused on the goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in Asia.

For the Thai team, expectations are placed on young star Suphanat Mueanta, 22 years old, the player who played very prominently in the first 3 matches of the group stage, helping “War Elephants” dominate Group A with 4 wins. , scored 18 goals and only conceded 4 goals.

Suphanat Mueanta is the best player in the AFF Cup 2024, scoring 3 goals and providing 4 assists, winning the best player of the match award 3 times. This player, along with Xuan Son, will be the most notable players in the semi-finals and finals of this year’s AFF Cup, according to the website. ESPN Asia.

In the semi-finals of the AFF Cup 2024, the Vietnamese team will meet Singapore in the first leg at Jalan Besar’s away field with artificial turf at 8:00 p.m. on December 26 (Vietnam time). The second leg will take place at Viet Tri Stadium in Phu Tho at 8 p.m. on December 29. While the Thai team faces the Philippines in the away leg on December 27, and the home leg on December 30.